CH 60

Ozer’s expression didn’t change as he heard the woman’s affirmation, remaining calm and indifferent, but his invisible spiritual power swept across Ji Ning’s body several times, carefully observing him.

Using his spiritual power, he could sense how Ji Ning’s appearance and spiritual imprint had changed. He’d obviously used some kind of camouflage, and it was a particularly sophisticated one. Using a normal scan, it would be impossible to find any flaws in it. 

However, the instrument scanner was only a cover. What the soldiers were really looking at was a spiritual mark the female spy had engraved on each of the instruments. When the missing Ji Ning passed the engraved mark, the spiritual marker in his body would connect to the mark on the instrument and the spy would instantly know his location.

The female spy had already sensed Ji Ning’s arrival. Her spiritual marks were undetectable and extremely difficult to remove. No matter what kind of external camouflage Ji Ning used, he couldn’t stop her from recognising the spiritual imprint she’d left. There was nowhere he could hide from her.

When the instrument detected the mark on Ji Ning, it displayed his result as ‘pending’, whilst simultaneously sending a signal to every Mo Ling soldier present to say the target had appeared.

The checkpoints appeared as calm as before on the surface, but undercover agents quickly surrounded Ji Ning’s location. They were on high alert for any unexpected scenarios that might occur. 

Ozer sat high above them watching the scene below, his lake green eyes darkened.

Everything had been carefully arranged to prevent Ji Ning from escaping again. The current calm was only to relax Ji Ning’s vigilance.

Before long, the relevant personnel would find an excuse to take Ji Ning to a certain spacecraft. This spacecraft was equipped with a spatial blocking shield and a large number of sealing devices. As long as Ji Ning entered the spacecraft, he would be imprisoned.

Ozer hadn’t wanted to treat him like this, but Ji Ning had escaped from him too many times. If he didn’t take such extreme measures he might lose him again.

And that wasn’t all he’d prepared.

The blond Emperor lowered his head, the fingertips of his right hand brushing across the wrist of his left. Underneath the sunlight, an almost imperceptible shimmer delicately shone.

Fixed on his wrist was a pair of transparent handcuffs made from a variety of rare materials. The other end would be attached to Ji Ning. He planned to use his spiritual power to shackle them together. In the truest sense, Ji Ning would never be able to leave him again.

No matter how much Ji Ning begged him, he could no longer be softhearted. This was the gentlest method he could think of. During the darkest moments of his spiritual attacks, he’d even had the terrible thought of stitching Ji Ning into his own body. 

Although he would never entertain that idea when he was in his right mind, he was vaguely aware that Ji Ning’s repeated escapes were pushing him into a frenzy. If Ji Ning ran away from him again, he didn’t know what he would do.

Stroking the handcuffs attached to his wrist, Ozer turned his wheelchair and entered the spacecraft. The hatch closed behind him and his figure disappeared behind the door.

To onlookers, it looked like he’d returned to his spacecraft but in fact, he left the shuttle through a secondary exit and entered the spacecraft marked for Ji Ning’s arrival, waiting for his Empress to appear.

Ji Ning was unaware of Ozer’s dark plans as he waited for his own inspection in the open area beneath the Emperor’s spacecraft. 

Watching Ozer disappear inside the spacecraft, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Without Ozer’s presence, there was a lot less psychological pressure and he no longer felt so nervous to face the people of the Mo Ling Empire.

For this second round of inspections, at worst he could just ask Huo Wuling to manipulate the inspectors.

Before long, there were about twenty tourists who’d received pending results gathered in the clearing. A soldier saluted them and invited them into a spacecraft for a further identity check.

She explained the simple process of the inspection and issued number plates to the tourists present, asking them to board the spacecraft in the order of their number plates. 

Ji Ning checked his number again. It was number three. The soldier led the group over to the spacecraft. As they were boarding, a tourist with guilt in their heart suddenly broke away from the group and tried to escape. Within seconds they were pressed into the floor by the soldiers, without any chance to resist.

Seeing the many soldiers surrounding the area, Ji Ning quickly decided that running away was not a wise decision.

Although he felt uneasy about being moved into the spacecraft, since they hadn’t guessed his identity yet, it would be best not to take any drastic actions. If the soldiers mistook him for a vicious criminal, he could end up getting killed.

“Wait a minute.” 

A person suddenly came out of the crowd of tourists and walked towards Ji Ning. Ji Ning turned towards the noise and saw it was Ark in disguise. Without his conspicuous wings and with an ordinary appearance, he looked like a typical, thin young man.

“Sir, this is the entrance for secondary inspections. Please use the other entrances for the basic inspection.”

A soldier politely stopped Ark, who shook his head and said, “I’m looking for my friend, he was led over here. I’m worried about him so I’d like to go with him.”

The soldier hesitated to answer, not knowing how to deal with the situation. His superior spoke a few words into her walkie talkie, then glanced towards Ark with shark eyes, nodding, “You can accompany him.” 

Given an affirmation, the soldier released Ark and the female soldier gave Ark his own number plate. Receiving the number plate, Ark walked over to Ji Ning.

Ji Ning felt reassured with Ark beside him and the two of them followed the crowd towards the spacecraft.

The boarding gate of the spacecraft was one person wide. Everyone stood ready to board according to their assigned numbers. As the last to arrive, Ark could only stand at the back of the line.

Ark frowned slightly. He wanted to exchange number plates with the person behind Ji Ning, but was stopped by the soldiers. Ji Ning shook his head slightly, indicating that he shouldn’t disobey their orders for the time being. Ark followed his wishes, but his eyes never left Ji Ning’s figure. 

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What was this?!

Ji Ning’s heart pounded, knowing his identity must have been exposed. 

Eyes wide in fear, he turned his head with difficulty to call for Ark, but with his limited vision he could only watch as the boarding gate disconnected from the hatch, leaving the other passengers outside. The spacecraft began its ascent and slowly rose up into the sky.

“Ark! Ark!”

Ji Ning felt a cold sweat roll down his back, as he desperately called for the Archangel, when he suddenly heard a clipped voice come from behind him.

“Are you still thinking of running away?” 

The blood in Ji Ning’s veins turned to ice at the sound of that voice. It took several long seconds for him to gain the courage to meet Ozer’s dark gaze.

“I’ll never hear a word of truth from your mouth.”

The Emperor moved his wheelchair towards Ji Ning. His cold and gloomy aura made Ji Ning’s heart throb in his chest.

“You say that you love me but you leave me again and again.” He held Ji Ning’s hand. His fingertips were icy, but not as cold as the look in his eyes, “How far are you willing to go to deceive me?” 

Imprisoned and unable to move, Ji Ning felt incredibly scared. He looked towards Ozer pleadingly and whispered, “Brother…”

“Don’t call me that.”

Ozer’s lips pulled into a bitter arc as he stretched out his hands. Before Ji Ning could make out the translucent object he was holding, something was fastened to his wrist with a ‘click’.

After putting on the handcuffs, Ozer released the light prison’s locking device, freeing Ji Ning. He pulled at their connected hands and let Ji Ning fall into his arms. Lifting him by the waist, he moved Ji Ning to sit on his lap. 

Ozer held Ji Ning’s jaw in a tight grip, forcing him to look into the Emperor’s eyes, “I am your future husband, you should call me as such.”

Ji Ning desperately shook his head at the man’s words, touching his wrist. Although he couldn’t see anything, he could feel the weight on his wrist and felt a little flustered, “Brother, what did you put on me?”

“They’re handcuffs.” Ozer raised his own cuffed hand, causing a soft sound of clinking chains, “To connect us together.” Seeing Ji Ning’s pale face, the corners of his lips curled up into a smile that showed no happiness, “Be obedient Xiao Ning, call me by my name.”

“Ozer…” Ji Ning tugged at his sleeve and begged him anxiously, “No, we can’t wear something like this. Even if it’s not for me, you’re the Emperor, this could hurt you. Your…” 

“You mean my reputation? I don’t care about that.”

Ozer interrupted him, “Besides, the noble imperial Empress fled on the eve of my wedding. If you don’t show up to the ceremony, wouldn’t I lose face even more?”

Ji Ning was at a loss for words as he watched the spacecraft move further and further away from the Interstellar Paradise through the hull window.

“Be good and come back with me.” Ozer tightened his hold, imprisoning him inside his arms, “Otherwise, I will kill that friend of yours.” 

“Don’t!”

Ji Ning blurted out in a panic, just as a loud noise came from outside the spacecraft. Seconds later, a heavy force struck the hull of the spacecraft, jolting the entire ship. Outside one of the windows, Ji Ning could see flames burning through a nearby spacecraft, dying the interior of the ship crimson.

Bang!

Bang! 

Another loud noise, accompanied by the sound of heavy artillery filled the air. Ji Ning broke away from Ozer’s embrace and rushed towards the window to watch. Ozer made no attempt to stop him, and instead followed Ji Ning to the window so they could watch the scene together.

A bright light appeared in the sky, exploding like a firework. Although it looked dazzling, it tore through several of the mechas that hovered in the sky. The mechas fell from the air, spinning towards the planet they had barely left behind.

The white angel had dropped his camouflage, his massive wings spread out across the darkness. Despite the vacuum of space, his snowy hair fluttered behind him from the sheer force he moved with. The spacecraft’s fire reflected in his silver eyes, as calm as a pool of water.

His face was beautiful, his clothes and wings spotless despite the fire of war. The remnants of the bombs he fired illuminated him like holy light. He looked like an angel who’d descended into the mortal world, yet wherever he went he brought endless violence and death. 

Boom!

The firepower from every mecha and spacecraft in the area concentrated on him, firing together to create a wall of fire that enveloped the angel.

Yet in an instant, the figure disappeared from the approaching attack at a speed invisible to the naked eye. A bright light appeared in the palm of his hand, before he sent it down the muzzle of one of the recently fired photon cannons of one of the advancing spaceships.

After a terrifying muffled noise, a massive hole erupted into the side of the spaceship. Unable to maintain its balance, it rolled over on its side, heavily damaged. 

The raging flames burned across the ship, the speed at which the hull was destroyed meant there was no time for the Mo Ling army to take any action. Only seconds after the emergency escape pod left the ship, the spacecraft exploded, dark ash spreading out in every direction.

This terrible scene of destruction made Ozer, who was watching the battle through the window, frown. His eyes fell on Ji Ning, knowing this enemy must have come for him.

A few minutes later, Ozer’s adjutant rushed over to report the situation of the unexpected battle. It had quickly become obvious that Mo Ling’s army was helpless against this unknown enemy. His terrifying power was beyond their cognition, if they wanted to fight against him, they needed some support.

“We’ve urgently requested aircraft carriers from the two nearest planets to support us, but they will take some time to arrive.” 

The adjutant said quickly, his expression solemn.

“According to the identity database, the enemy is most likely a humanoid weapon called an ‘Archangel’, developed by the Noah Star Nation.”

“Our current correspondents inside the Noah Star assure us that all their Archangels are accounted for inside the country. None of them are acting privately and Noah’s highest officials have sworn that the country has no intention to attack Mo Ling.”

“However, Noah also claims that their first generation Archangel defected and disappeared only a few months ago. They believe we’ve encountered their first generation Archangel and are willing to unconditionally send all of their second generation Archangels to assist in the destruction of the defective Archangel.” 

Ozer nodded slightly, “Noah star country…they’re not too far from here.”

“Yes.” The adjutant replied, “Noah’s Archangels are travelling at top speed and should arrive alongside the two aircraft carriers.”

“Let their people take care of themselves,” Ozer said, “Tell our troops to avoid unnecessary casualties but do not let that enemy near the ship under any circumstances.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” 

The adjutant retreated quickly for strategic deployment. Ji Ning watched the angel anxiously from the window, worried about his safety. His heart was just about to beat out of his chest when Ozer gripped his wrist, forcing him to turn towards the Emperor.

“Is he the one you called for just now?”

Ozer smiled cooly, “You must be very happy to see that he’s come to save you, but don’t entertain the idea of him stealing you away. If he keeps persisting in his obsession, he will die here.”

Ji Ning’s face turned pale and panicked. Watching him with a blank expression, the blond Emperor’s eyes dimmed. Just as he was about to speak again, Ji Ning shouted, “Don’t!” 

But he wasn’t looking at Ozer.

The Emperor’s powerful spiritual ability had also sensed something was wrong. He hunched over slightly, protecting his vital areas with his spiritual power as the sound of a gunshot echoed behind him. The bullet pierced his shoulder, blood immediately gushing from the wound.

His wheelchair overbalanced from the inertia, crashing to the ground. Ozer struggled up to see a dark haired man walking towards him, holding a pistol that seemed to be made of blood.

The man slightly raised the corners of his lips, his beautiful eyes smiling happily. It was a chilling smile. 

“Ningning, didn’t I tell you to keep quiet, why did you warn him?” The dark haired man spoke affectionately, “If you let him die, you won’t have to be hunted down by him anymore, would you?”

Ji Ning shook his head in horror, “I don’t want him to die. You can’t kill him.”

Seconds ago, he’d watched Huo Wuling point the gun at the back of Ozer’s head, holding a finger to his lips with a smirk and nearly scaring him to death.

He couldn’t watch any of the protagonists die. No matter how much Ozer scared him, he never wanted him to die. 

Ozer clutched his bleeding shoulder, his eyes dark as his spiritual energy condensed into a deadly invisible blade that swung towards Huo Wuling.

The air around Huo Wuling darkened, transforming into hundreds of hideous ghost faces. Like a shield, they blocked Huo Wuling from the blade’s attacks, until Ozer exerted a manipulative spiritual power onto the ghosts. Several of the spectres screamed, spinning around to bite at Huo Wuling.

At the same time, multiple blades stabbed through Huo Wuling’s vital points. Ji Ning nearly screamed at the sight of it, but in the next second, Huo Wuling’s figure vanished, merely an illusion. He reappeared in front of Ozer and smiled warmly at him.

“Hello.” 

He pulled the gun’s trigger once again, aiming at Ozer’s forehead.

But this time, Ozer was prepared for him. The moment the bullet left the gun’s barrel, it was as if it had been submerged in water, slowing down until it came to a complete stop. Finally it dropped harmlessly to the ground.

“Your Majesty!”

“His Majesty Ozer!” 

Every soldier positioned on the spacecraft had excellent spiritual powers. In an instant, the guards broke free from Huo Wuling’s hypnotism and rushed towards Ozer in a synchronised attack against Huo Wuling.

Huo Wuling’s injury hadn’t had a chance to heal, the only reason he was so confident in his one to one battle with Ozer was because he could get the upper hand through sneak attacks. Facing so many spiritual energy users, it would be impossible to kill Ozer.

Since he had no intention of staying to fight those people, he opened up a hellish illusion, shrouding the soldiers inside of it for a short time. He then picked Ji Ning up in his arms and walked towards the hatch of the spaceship. The soldier on guard by the hatch opened the spacecraft doors as soon as they arrived, hypnotised, and the freezing vacuum of space poured inside the spacecraft.

But Huo Wuling’s movements were suddenly blocked. Ji Ning grabbed his wrist, touching the invisible chain. He looked at Huo Wuling, wanting to cry, “I’m handcuffed to Ozer, we’re locked together.” 

Huo Wuling raised an eyebrow, “That’s a good idea, I should lock you up in the future.”

Ji Ning felt the urge to strangle him, how could he be in the mood to joke at a time like this?!

“Then I could cut off his wrist…” Huo Wuling teased, but before Ji Ning could get too worried, he sighed softly and said, “But unfortunately he’s pretty strong. I guess it can’t be done, I’ll do it another day.”

As he spoke, a few little ghosts with fangs were biting at the chains frantically. However, whatever the chains were made of, no matter how much they bit, the chain remained undamaged and showed no signs of breaking. 

“Oh?” Huo Wuling frowned, pondering for a moment. His eyes fell on Ji Ning’s wrist and he asked, “Maybe I should cut off your wrist?”

“I’ll cut you!” Ji Ning hit him angrily.

“Then what do you think?” Huo Wuling smiled, “Should we take him with us?”

Ji Ning really couldn’t think what to do, when the terminal he’d hidden in his luggage appeared on the spaceship floor. A black light flashed from the terminal and with a clinking noise, the taut handcuff on his wrist fell slack, the chain cut. The terminal then returned to Ji Ning’s wrist. 

It was Lai…

Surprise flickered across Ji Ning’s face. Huo Wuling glanced at the terminal with an indecipherable expression. Before Ji Ning could ask him about it, a huge wave of spiritual energy attacked him again. In just a few minutes, Ozer had fought his way out of the hellish illusion. He looked between Ji Ning and Huo Wuling with darkened eyes, his expression furious.

“Give him back to me.”

“Come and grab him then.” Huo Wuling sneered and suddenly threw Ji Ning out of the open hatch, watching him fall into the void of space, “Do you want to go get him?” 

Huo Wuling! You’re fucking asking for death!

Ji Ning, who’d been thrown from the spaceship, couldn’t believe what had happened. Air rushed past his ears as his body fell into the abyss.

Yet in the next second, a swarm of bats rushed into the air, gently catching Ji Ning. The group of fluttering bats merged together, transforming into a handsome, dark haired man. He held Ji Ning tightly in his arms, pressing a gentle kiss on his forehead. Herinos smiled in reassurance.

“Sorry I was late, are you okay?” 

“It doesn’t matter, you came just in time Herinos…”

Ji Ning gasped for breath, thanking Herinos as he hugged him, still in shock.

Huo Wuling must have sensed Herinos was coming if he dared throw him into space. But that son of a bitch should have warned him! He definitely did it on purpose to scare him!

The blood prince gently stroked Ji Ning’s back, comforting him. The two moved across an endless carpet of bats as they slowly descended from the sky. 

Ji Ning still felt a lingering fear and unconsciously raised his head to look at the spaceship, but that single glance made him stop breathing.

A shadowy figure fell from the spacecraft’s hatch.

Ozer had really jumped out of the spacecraft after him.

The author has something to say: At ten o’clock I was still a few hundred words off, but I posted it anyway! Now I can declare that I really wrote 6000 words for ten o’clock without breaking my promise. Since the time was correct, I have now revised and added the remaining words…! 

I would like to thank the coffee baby (username: BoilWaterDrinkCoffee) for writing me a long comment. It was published in chapter 47 for the pairing of the Xuanhuan male protagonist Ying Qianqiu x the young master Ji Ning of the Qingzong sect.

The writing is truly diligent and very well written. Everyone go and enjoy it!! =v=

I can’t find the comment (╥﹏╥). If anyone has seen it / could send it (just the raws is fine!) I will add it here with love <3

There truly are some diligent comments on this novel…Once I’ve finished translating the novel, I could add some of them as extras(?) Some of them are pretty spicy~~ 

I guess Huo Wuling knew it would be too hard to get Ningning to like him for his personality, so he’s just making sure he can never forget about him instead.

I’m sorry that my updates are pretty random at the moment – I’d forgotten about one of my essays so it’s been a very scary week for this translator!! After it’s submitted on Wednesday my chapters will go back to normal, promise~